How to Build a Cohort Retention Dashboard in Google Sheets
As a SaaS founder or investor, understanding customer retention is critical. But most people struggle with messy spreadsheets and manual calculations. Here's how to track cohort retention in 5 minutes.
What You Need
- Customer signup dates
- Monthly active status per customer
- Google Sheets
Step 1: Structure Your Data
Create columns: Customer ID, Signup Month, Month 1 Active, Month 2 Active... through Month 12.
Step 2: Calculate Cohort Retention
Use COUNTIFS formulas to calculate: % of each cohort that stays active month-over-month.
Step 3: Visualize
Create a heatmap with conditional formatting and a line chart for retention curves.
Step 4: Analyze
Look for cohorts with abnormal drop-offs and investigate root causes.
Get the Pre-Built Template
I've automated all of this in a Google Sheets template with pre-built formulas, charts, and sample data. Grab it here: Cohort Retention Analysis Tool
Happy analyzing! 📊
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